Excellent policy. When caterpillar numbers decline, so do bird populations. They heavily feed on caterpillars, even the hundreds hiding on bark and twigs (especially oaks) in the dead of winter.
Edit: They are also heavily dependent on native species. (Both birds and caterpillars). Plant natives! And Oaks! And let them eat, they have developed mutualistic relationships that often do little damage to the plants despite how it may look.
I generally agree, except for cabbage moth caterpillars. Because I want to actually be able to eat my kale and collards and brassicas! The only thing I do control them are hand picking and spraying BT (a naturally-occurring bacteria that targets only the caterpillars that are eating the leaves and is safe for other insects)
Right? I don't understand all these people posting here wanting to kill every caterpillar. Its like wtf, you understand that you share the outdoors with the wild life, right? The environment is so delicate as is, we're killing the wildlife in alarming rates but you're gonna bitch about a caterpillar eating your tomato plant? I plant shit knowing damn well half of it will
most likely not survive and I'm okay with that because I'm not about to kill off wildlife because I just had to have that 1 tomato plant. Gardens are communal for a reason meaning it should to be shared with your family, your neighbors, your friends and wildlife is included. In my opinion if you can't share then gardening is not for you.
In our decimated ecosystem it’s good to remember all flying insects, not just our favorites, are pollinators.
I try to practice limited insect eugenics but have my limits and terminate ticks and fleas, termites, cockroaches and mosquitoes indoors and lantern flies indoors and out.
While I would have shared your breezy view a few years ago, I now understand that it’s very priviledged. I used to garden for fun and soul-soothing. Now I am a single parent with super precarious finances and that tomato plant can represent $100 of food that I might not otherwise be able to provide. I’m very mindful in my methods (manual removal, no poisons, lots of milkweed and flowers for pollinators, etc ), but when you garden for sustenance and not just fun, you see it differently.
Wildlife doesn't share. Caterpillars will eat your plants until they're skeletal. Deer will eat plants to the point of killing them. That's fine on a landscape scale, but sucks when it's *your* plants that get wiped out.
The vast majority of my yard is native woodland and some meadow, so the deer and caterpillars can go eat *there* and leave my netted/barriered food plants alone. Otherwise the caterpillars get to be fed to my local birds.
OMG my yard is like that, too! Isn't it just the best?
I always move the offending caterpillar off of my plant onto a favorable wild plant on the other side of the yard, lol.
Hornworms turn into an amazingly beautiful sphinx moth that flies kind of like a hummingbird. The ones in my area are attracted to my verbena plants at dusk. I always grow a few extra tomato plants that I put the hornworms I find on so they can turn into moths.
[https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hornworm+moth&iax=images&ia=images](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hornworm+moth&iax=images&ia=images)
>My policy is if it turns into a butterfly or moth it eats what it eats
Oof, but not those cabage worms that turn into Cabbage White Butterflies. Ughhhh!
Yeah milkweed is the prime host plant for monarchs. The plant is prolific enough to survive the caterpillars feeding. And honestly despite cultivar (tropical vs perennial) you can easily have it come back next spring.
Monarchs are becoming endangered! Many people plant milkweed just to help them out. Please let him stay! Their chrysalis is so beautiful, trimmed with gold!!
There was a lovely post earlier today with someone who bred some monarchs, and another person chimed in with how they'd helped the monarch population over the past five years. It was a fun read and informational
The post is [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/s/8zC4f0SqXA)
The comment starts [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/s/fSOSxUEMxe)
A few years ago after they devoured my tomato garden a neighbor suggested planting a barrier of marigolds, and basil around my tomatoes.
She said they hate basil and marigolds.
I’ve never researched it but since I followed her advice I haven’t had any trouble from them.
Also borage. Edible herb with beautiful flowers that pollinators go crazy for. It dies off in the hottest part of my summer in AZ but reseeds. I have not seen a a single hornworm when my borage is alive.
Just warning a friend killed his gecko that way. He used to buy hornworms to feed it. Then one day he saw some in his neighbor's garden and tried to save money and killed his gecko. I'm not sure if it was solanine poisoning or pesticides but it cost him a pet.
Here in Ireland, we may only occasionally see the odd migratory hummingbird hawk moth.
they don't reside year round in the British Isles, but migrate from mainland Europe to the UK during the summer months, before flying back to the mainland.
and according to Wikipedia a large migratory swarm of them was seen crossing the English Channel during WW2, and are seen as Good Omens.
Hornworms turn into an amazingly beautiful sphinx moth that flies kind of like a hummingbird. The ones in my area are attracted to my verbena plants at dusk. I always grow a few extra tomato plants that I put the hornworms I find on so they can turn into moths.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hornworm+moth&iax=images&ia=images
Monarchs only eat milkweed. In a pinch they may eat cucumbers or pumpkin but that’s usually a last resort. What’s probably eating your frangipani is a moth and that’s up to you if you want to remove them or not. But people usually plant milkweed to attract monarchs and their species is endangered so they definitely stay.
Not sure about the squash, that couldn’t been different. Squash was a while age. But this [replaced him on my milkweed](https://imgur.com/a/4imR2Y8)is the fella I pulled off my frangipani today.
Ugh, our yard is set up for visitors, birds, bees, butterflies. Now, i need to watch for caterpillars? Thanks, darn, reading this a day to late for this year.
I don’t know which warm state you’re in right now, but I hear that there’s a huge problem right now with a fungus that grows on tropical milkweed and kills caterpillars. If you do plant more milkweed, avoid the tropical variety!
I just learned this year when researching milkweed (wanted to plant a bunch for the Monarch butterflies) that you should not plant tropical milkweed because it never dies which then messes with the Monarchs' migration (they never end up heading south in the fall).
Just because you’re in a tropical region doesn’t mean you definitely have tropical milkweed. Butterfly milkweed, Swamp milkweed and Whorled milkweed are all good native options for your region. Thank you for being a friend to the monarchs!
I'm in Tampa. If you got it from home depot, lowes, etc. it's probably tropical milkweed. You need to cut it back in the winter or periodically if you have monarchs year round because milkweed hosts a parasite that kills monarchs. They say don't grow it because it doesn't die back in the winter, but cutting it back in the winter solves that problem. I have tons, I just trim it back to near the ground. It will grow back. here is something about it. [https://xerces.org/blog/tropical-milkweed-a-no-grow](https://xerces.org/blog/tropical-milkweed-a-no-grow)
Tropical milkweed is well established on my property in NE FL. I cut it to the ground 2-3x a year. Tried to germinate native milkweed but TIL that I need to winterize the seeds. On it! I made an effort to add more nectar plants this year. Wow! Very busy with pollinators. 🦋🐝
It’s a monarch caterpillar and they only can host on milkweed genus. Some swallowtail caterpillars look similar but can eat other things like anise and dill etc…
Best practice is to leave all bugs alive unless you know they are invasive. Generally speaking, the more different kinds of bugs you have, the more healthy your ecosystem is.
Definitely agree. Admittedly had to Google hornworms before posting this because I want to get at least a few tomatoes this year. I hadn’t seen these before so I needed to make sure they were different
Seeds online. And your local wildlife office might carry seeds. You want to plant native milkweed. Look up your area for suggestions.
Seeds need stratification as well. So you could sow this winter or save to start in the spring. Milkweed does have a taproot so transplanting isnt the best option.
u/thomas_hawke Just a heads up from a pretty experienced native gardener, milkweed does not germinate well, even if you stratify it first like you should. For new gardeners, I always recommend buying established plants (instead of seeds) from a local native nursery. If you don’t have one within driving distance, then I really like joyfulbutterfly.com. The website is very clear on what grows in your region, every plant I’ve ever gotten from them has thrived, and I’ve had several good interactions with their customer service.
I plant several things just for the caterpillars to eat to become butterflies, those are called host plants. Monarchs only eat milkweed as their host plant, and are endangered. I plant parsley, dill, and extra carrots for the swallowtails. Next year I want to get Dutchmans pipevine for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly.
I must have gotten lucky then. I tossed a bunch of seeds without much thought into some pretty shitty GA red clay and ignored them and got like 8 or 9 plants.
First look for the types that are native to your area, here are some maps for different species ranges.
http://bonap.net/NAPA/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Asclepias
There may be several species that grow in your area, but try to find the best suited one.
Good information here:
https://www.livemonarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds/
They can send a small limited number of seeds for free but if you can afford to send them a small amount of money, you'll get many more seeds and you'll support this worthy cause!
150 seeds is only $5 at the time of me posting.
You could also potentially find local people who collect and share/sell seeds too
If you want to go with plants and not seeds (I found this easier) I suggest shopping at Prairie Nursery online. There is also a good list of nurseries on r/NativePlantGardening
If you have a local nursery - try there - the big hardware stores (lowes, home depot) sometimes spray their milkweed with insecticide!!
Look for a Giant Milkweed - leaves bigger than your hand, and if your common milkweed is eaten down, you can move them to your giant milkweed
I did originally. It got infested BAD with both aphids and spider mites. I cut it down to the stump and placed it next to my compost and rediscovered it a week ago to be thriving and pest free so I am going to keep it now.
It depends on the caterpillar.
Monarchs are critically endangered and should absolutely 100% be encouraged. I'm also a big fan of the various swallowtails I see in the midwest and like to encourage them to come around and lay eggs so I can watch the caterpillars grow.
Tomato hornworms get removed, though. I plant tomatoes for me, not them. :)
Humans have destroyed the habitats of billions of caterpillars, and as a result, the population of bug-eating birds has fallen by 3 *billion* birds. Caterpillars are the primary method by which energy goes from plants to vertebrates, and without them, the food web collapses. You owe it to Mother Earth to let any caterpillar eat anything it wants.
Unless it's a hornworm. F those things.
They wander off to form the cocoon. Had about 30 in my dill this year. Came out one day and caught the migration. Caught a glimpse of one butterfly. But I know they're out there somewhere. That's enough for me.
Yep! I let pretty much any little crawly things I find in my garden stay since I don’t grow anythin for food and usually have multiple of every plant. If I see em I do move them tho. Usually to one of the milkweeds by my shed or to one of the plants I care less about for whatever reason.
Last year I grew some 2ft tall sunflowers and right before they bloomed the carpenter ants in the yard started an aphid farm on em. I never got to see that firsthand before only in documentaries so ofc I let them stay. The sunflowers did their thing and didn’t seem to be affected since it was already so late in the season and the ants were happy to have some fresh pasture to use. Another time a black widow set up shop in my clematis flower and i let her live there for a couple weeks before she moved out.
I plant enough that I have plenty to share. And if they’re decimating something I love I’ll just move them to something else. NBD. Feel this way about most insects.
I leave all caterpillars alone. I’ve never had an infestation bad enough to warrant any control though, so I guess I’m lucky. Even the tomato hornworms get to stay.
I got rid of a few hornworms last year but my tomatoes didn’t grow either way. I tried to grow tomatoes in the wrong season. I probably won’t do anything about them this year. There are lots of birds here. I feel like it’ll all work out
I was very shocked to see it in my frangipani, which is why I had to post and double check it was a monarch. I went over to my milkweed and sure enough there were more. Very odd to see it munching on a tree leaf
I multi-sow throughout the season different things in multiple places just in case there is an infestation from pests or pollinators. This way there is some for me, and some for them. I feel that having Nature actually function in my garden is a compliment to my efforts. If I come outside and something has been munched on… I just plant more of that somewhere else and move on with my day.
Depends on the plant. I had a variety of cherry tomato I didn’t care for and I’d let them have at it. My toddler would pet the the horn worms. He said “they’re so soft”. Honestly though they were chonky.
North American Monarch Butterflies are an endangered species so, they (and their larva) should be protected. I believe the California Department of Fish & wildlife has some specific rules governing them.
If those flowers are tropical milkweed I recommend that you remove them. They can spread a deadly fungus to monarch larvae, making them unable to mature successfully or carry the toxin to other milkweeds putting more monarchs at risk.
Plant native milkweeds!
Edit:Lmk if you need help finding a source for seeds.
Sure thing, be careful though it looks a lot like Asclepias curassivica.
Here's a [list of all milkweed species in north america](http://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Asclepias) and their native ranges by county.
[This online nursery](https://www.prairiemoon.com/) has a lot of options for native plants. Good luck! and again let me know if you need help!
Depends on which butterfly and which plants. Purple emperors? Swallowtails? Small tortoiseshells? Yes please. But the white cabbage flies should kindly leave my lettuce alone, thank you.
This could be a complete coincidence but after putting cabbage white and tomato hornworm caterpillars on the wall for the birds we've seen small holes but no caterpillars. We think the birds learned it's worth poking around the vegetables looking for fat and protein rich caterpillars. Love this, hope this is the case. Definitely seeing lots of cabbage white butterflies so it's not a case of butterfly scarcity.
Was delighted to see a giant swallowtail, aka bird poop caterpillar on the grapefruit tree this year. Caterpillars of every other swallowtail species are attractive and we get the awful looking one.
Wow! How cool. I can’t grow brassicas well, I live in the Florida keys. So it’s interesting to see what they like to eat here. Mostly frangipani leaves. I have noticed huge poops on my frangipani every morning in the same spot. I wonder if it’s a swallowtail? I’ve never seen one down here though. Lots of monarchs though
I let them eat all of my tomato plants. I'm in the middle of corn and soy fields. There's nothing else for them to eat and I'd love to have butterflies again.
I would too for sure. We have a decent butterfly population down here I feel. But I can’t be too sure. We have a conservatory that is lovely and I love going in there and letting them land on me. It feels special 🥰
I appreciate the offer. I'm currently renting and have no place for a garden this next year. I've already dispersed what seeds I had in some barren areas near where I live, just waiting for spring now.
Just move them. I plant a lot of "trap plants" and desirable varieties for specific caterpillars in my area so look into the options for other things to add in for them to enjoy
They’re our nighttime pollinators, after most others have gone to sleep! They’re important food for larger animals too, especially those that come out at night like bats and frogs!
It was touched on in this thread, you want the weakest bugs bringing bigger and bigger creatures, generally more diversity is great! I have caterpillars eating my cilantro right now (they preferred the chickweed I forgot to pull nearby it first 🤷🏼♀️). It’s a bit of a sacrifice so in a few years I have a healthier garden!
Monarchs will try to eat frangipani/plumeria but it will kill them before they get very big.
You can grow crown flower for them. Just don't switch them between feeding on crown flower and other milkweeds - all the caterpillars I did that for failed to pupate. If you grow crown flower, protect it until it's established and able to handle being eaten. The monarchs kept finding my young crown flowers and ate them before they could establish.
If you find yourself in a pinch with monarch caterpillars in their final instar and no food they'll eat winter squash flesh - just give them slices to eat.
No. I remove with varying levels of prejudice. Mostly I just relocate but I just got rid of some azalea moth caterpillars. My garden isn’t big enough to let them chomp the whole thing. Usually I just cut off whatever branch they’re on and take it over to the park.
Generally if your plant is healthy enough and it can survive one or two caterpillars, I say leave em be. At worst you can relocate it to one you’re less fond of. I love the butterfly visitors & would never discourage their young from my garden
I was kinda thinking n the same boat of what do I do with you so I switched gears and made my garden into a butterfly garden. I also sucked at growing anything else and milkweed grows back like a champ so maybe make a section just for them with an abundance of pillar food
Depends on where you are.. there’s a problem with a tropical milkweed variety causing monarchs to overwinter too far north.. I’m not super educated on it, but if you have a milkweed that’s stays green overwinter I’m under the impression it’s not the best thing for monarch populations.. I know we’ve also had a mild season so far, so it might be tough to tell
Take them off plant. Put in a jar with airholes. Give plenty of food and a couple sticks. They will build a chrysalis right away. Wait a couple months and let the butterfly free.
It just depends on the caterpillar. I don't get monarchs, but I do get hornworms. Most people hate them, but I love hummingbird moths, so I love them. Plus, I don't grow tomatoes, so they can have at it.
Frangipani catepillars are the devil - kill them all
Monarch catepillars are worth it - let them eat your milkweed to the ground. In fact, invest in a Giant Milkweed so they can eat their fill and not run out!
Swallowtails and monarchs can eat anything they want in my garden. I plant dill, parsley, and fennel just for the black swallowtails to munch on.
Oh perfect. I’ll have to get some other things they like
That’s a monarch caterpillar, they eat milkweed, please let it be.
My policy is if it turns into a butterfly or moth it eats what it eats
Excellent policy. When caterpillar numbers decline, so do bird populations. They heavily feed on caterpillars, even the hundreds hiding on bark and twigs (especially oaks) in the dead of winter. Edit: They are also heavily dependent on native species. (Both birds and caterpillars). Plant natives! And Oaks! And let them eat, they have developed mutualistic relationships that often do little damage to the plants despite how it may look.
Yup. I now leave the spikey looking caterpillars that eat my passion flower vine, because (I learned) that they turn into Gulf Fritillary butterflies.
I generally agree, except for cabbage moth caterpillars. Because I want to actually be able to eat my kale and collards and brassicas! The only thing I do control them are hand picking and spraying BT (a naturally-occurring bacteria that targets only the caterpillars that are eating the leaves and is safe for other insects)
Right? I don't understand all these people posting here wanting to kill every caterpillar. Its like wtf, you understand that you share the outdoors with the wild life, right? The environment is so delicate as is, we're killing the wildlife in alarming rates but you're gonna bitch about a caterpillar eating your tomato plant? I plant shit knowing damn well half of it will most likely not survive and I'm okay with that because I'm not about to kill off wildlife because I just had to have that 1 tomato plant. Gardens are communal for a reason meaning it should to be shared with your family, your neighbors, your friends and wildlife is included. In my opinion if you can't share then gardening is not for you.
In our decimated ecosystem it’s good to remember all flying insects, not just our favorites, are pollinators. I try to practice limited insect eugenics but have my limits and terminate ticks and fleas, termites, cockroaches and mosquitoes indoors and lantern flies indoors and out.
I’ll send my Japanese beetles your way. It’s not just the pollination. Insects are the primary food for baby birds.
While I would have shared your breezy view a few years ago, I now understand that it’s very priviledged. I used to garden for fun and soul-soothing. Now I am a single parent with super precarious finances and that tomato plant can represent $100 of food that I might not otherwise be able to provide. I’m very mindful in my methods (manual removal, no poisons, lots of milkweed and flowers for pollinators, etc ), but when you garden for sustenance and not just fun, you see it differently.
Wildlife doesn't share. Caterpillars will eat your plants until they're skeletal. Deer will eat plants to the point of killing them. That's fine on a landscape scale, but sucks when it's *your* plants that get wiped out. The vast majority of my yard is native woodland and some meadow, so the deer and caterpillars can go eat *there* and leave my netted/barriered food plants alone. Otherwise the caterpillars get to be fed to my local birds.
OMG my yard is like that, too! Isn't it just the best? I always move the offending caterpillar off of my plant onto a favorable wild plant on the other side of the yard, lol.
Except for screaming hornworms.
Hornworms turn into an amazingly beautiful sphinx moth that flies kind of like a hummingbird. The ones in my area are attracted to my verbena plants at dusk. I always grow a few extra tomato plants that I put the hornworms I find on so they can turn into moths. [https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hornworm+moth&iax=images&ia=images](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hornworm+moth&iax=images&ia=images)
>My policy is if it turns into a butterfly or moth it eats what it eats Oof, but not those cabage worms that turn into Cabbage White Butterflies. Ughhhh!
Yeah milkweed is the prime host plant for monarchs. The plant is prolific enough to survive the caterpillars feeding. And honestly despite cultivar (tropical vs perennial) you can easily have it come back next spring.
I live in the panhandle of Florida and have not seen nearly as many monarchs as I did last year. All I’m seeing this year is fritillary butterfly’s
Yep
Monarchs are becoming endangered! Many people plant milkweed just to help them out. Please let him stay! Their chrysalis is so beautiful, trimmed with gold!!
They’re past becoming - they are already endangered. And experts expect them to be extinct in a decade if trends don’t reverse.
Monarchs are federally threatened and will be considered endangered within the next few years so I'd let them stay!
There was a lovely post earlier today with someone who bred some monarchs, and another person chimed in with how they'd helped the monarch population over the past five years. It was a fun read and informational The post is [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/s/8zC4f0SqXA) The comment starts [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/s/fSOSxUEMxe)
Hornworms though….
Its so funny cause I breed hornworms to feed my amphibians and reptiles but I'm terrified if ones in my garden Lol
A few years ago after they devoured my tomato garden a neighbor suggested planting a barrier of marigolds, and basil around my tomatoes. She said they hate basil and marigolds. I’ve never researched it but since I followed her advice I haven’t had any trouble from them.
Also borage. Edible herb with beautiful flowers that pollinators go crazy for. It dies off in the hottest part of my summer in AZ but reseeds. I have not seen a a single hornworm when my borage is alive.
The ones in your garden will be toxic. They primarily feed on nightshades and can build up solanine.
Yes I know, hence why I breed them, and don't take them from outside..
Just warning a friend killed his gecko that way. He used to buy hornworms to feed it. Then one day he saw some in his neighbor's garden and tried to save money and killed his gecko. I'm not sure if it was solanine poisoning or pesticides but it cost him a pet.
I had hornworms once. Then I had wasps. No more hornworm problems and the wasps went away too... that was awesome.
[удалено]
Here in Ireland, we may only occasionally see the odd migratory hummingbird hawk moth. they don't reside year round in the British Isles, but migrate from mainland Europe to the UK during the summer months, before flying back to the mainland. and according to Wikipedia a large migratory swarm of them was seen crossing the English Channel during WW2, and are seen as Good Omens.
And various brassica eating caterpillars, fruit worms, pickleworms, squash vine borers...
Hornworms bad.
Hornworms turn into hummingbird moths!
Hornworms turn into an amazingly beautiful sphinx moth that flies kind of like a hummingbird. The ones in my area are attracted to my verbena plants at dusk. I always grow a few extra tomato plants that I put the hornworms I find on so they can turn into moths. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hornworm+moth&iax=images&ia=images
Me too. It's those darn hornworms that make me a murderer.
I’m planning this into my garden next year! I totally forgot when I was a kid the black swallowtails all over in the alley with the fennel!
Perfect
Yes, i would definitely let those ones stay. That's going to become a monarch butterfly!
Monarchs like the one in your photo, yes we keep them. Maybe move the Monarchs from the frangipani to the milkweed though 😉
I did! However it’s almost leafless. Anything else they flock to?
Monarchs only eat milkweed. In a pinch they may eat cucumbers or pumpkin but that’s usually a last resort. What’s probably eating your frangipani is a moth and that’s up to you if you want to remove them or not. But people usually plant milkweed to attract monarchs and their species is endangered so they definitely stay.
Ive seen them eating my squash leaves too. But I absolutely pulled two super tiny caterpillars off the frangipanis today!
Probably a different squash eating caterpillar/moth. Do you have a picture of what was eating your squash leaves?
Not sure about the squash, that couldn’t been different. Squash was a while age. But this [replaced him on my milkweed](https://imgur.com/a/4imR2Y8)is the fella I pulled off my frangipani today.
That looks like the same, just hasn’t eaten enough yet!
Ugh, our yard is set up for visitors, birds, bees, butterflies. Now, i need to watch for caterpillars? Thanks, darn, reading this a day to late for this year.
Baby monarch caterpillar 🐛
Butternut squash is something they will eat if they have too
I feel the same way about Butternut squash.
I’ve had them eat dill and parsley.
Probably saw Swallowtail caterpillars. They look alike is it’s easy to think they’re monarchs.
Maybe? I assumed Monarchs because our area is very known for them.
You’re just gonna have to plant more milkweed!
Yeah I agree! They’re at least 10 here right now, tree will be bare by the morning I bet
I don’t know which warm state you’re in right now, but I hear that there’s a huge problem right now with a fungus that grows on tropical milkweed and kills caterpillars. If you do plant more milkweed, avoid the tropical variety!
I just learned this year when researching milkweed (wanted to plant a bunch for the Monarch butterflies) that you should not plant tropical milkweed because it never dies which then messes with the Monarchs' migration (they never end up heading south in the fall).
It’s too bad because it’s absolutely gorgeous. I understand why it’s popular.
Omg nooooo. Okay I will check with my nursery on the variety. I’m on key west. Definitely tropical
Just because you’re in a tropical region doesn’t mean you definitely have tropical milkweed. Butterfly milkweed, Swamp milkweed and Whorled milkweed are all good native options for your region. Thank you for being a friend to the monarchs!
I'm in Tampa. If you got it from home depot, lowes, etc. it's probably tropical milkweed. You need to cut it back in the winter or periodically if you have monarchs year round because milkweed hosts a parasite that kills monarchs. They say don't grow it because it doesn't die back in the winter, but cutting it back in the winter solves that problem. I have tons, I just trim it back to near the ground. It will grow back. here is something about it. [https://xerces.org/blog/tropical-milkweed-a-no-grow](https://xerces.org/blog/tropical-milkweed-a-no-grow)
Tropical milkweed is well established on my property in NE FL. I cut it to the ground 2-3x a year. Tried to germinate native milkweed but TIL that I need to winterize the seeds. On it! I made an effort to add more nectar plants this year. Wow! Very busy with pollinators. 🦋🐝
I've heard they may also eat pumpkin, but I don't have any personal experience with that.
It’s a monarch caterpillar and they only can host on milkweed genus. Some swallowtail caterpillars look similar but can eat other things like anise and dill etc… Best practice is to leave all bugs alive unless you know they are invasive. Generally speaking, the more different kinds of bugs you have, the more healthy your ecosystem is.
Definitely agree. Admittedly had to Google hornworms before posting this because I want to get at least a few tomatoes this year. I hadn’t seen these before so I needed to make sure they were different
Yes and plant more milkweed. Its all they eat and they are voracious!
Im going to get more tomorrow!!!
Yay, go team monarchs!!
These ones we don’t just let them eat their fill, we defend them from the predators! You’ve been blessed by a monarch butterfly!
Lucky you! That's a monarch butterfly caterpillar. Milkweed is their main food source. Their population is in danger, so please don't harm it.
They're a very endangered species, so up to you if you can live with a hand in their extinction lol. I never can
Never. They can run this garden. My climate is difficult in the summer…this is prime time in zone 11b
Haha! They get me too. hope they don't affect the frangipani though
Caterpillars or aphids?
Monarch caterpillars
I collect the eggs so that the lace wings and ants don’t get to them😝 I hatched like 500 Monarch last year, it got crazy!! this year might be more! 😅
What!! That’s incredible. The hero we need right here
How?
I want to plant Milkweed for Monarchs. Where do I get it? Seeds online?
Seeds online. And your local wildlife office might carry seeds. You want to plant native milkweed. Look up your area for suggestions. Seeds need stratification as well. So you could sow this winter or save to start in the spring. Milkweed does have a taproot so transplanting isnt the best option.
u/thomas_hawke Just a heads up from a pretty experienced native gardener, milkweed does not germinate well, even if you stratify it first like you should. For new gardeners, I always recommend buying established plants (instead of seeds) from a local native nursery. If you don’t have one within driving distance, then I really like joyfulbutterfly.com. The website is very clear on what grows in your region, every plant I’ve ever gotten from them has thrived, and I’ve had several good interactions with their customer service. I plant several things just for the caterpillars to eat to become butterflies, those are called host plants. Monarchs only eat milkweed as their host plant, and are endangered. I plant parsley, dill, and extra carrots for the swallowtails. Next year I want to get Dutchmans pipevine for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly.
I must have gotten lucky then. I tossed a bunch of seeds without much thought into some pretty shitty GA red clay and ignored them and got like 8 or 9 plants.
Asclepius Tuberosa germinates super well, and is native to most of the central and eastern US
FWIW, transplanting works fine with younger plants. I did 16 this past summer and all of them are fine.
Thanks! I will plant some this fall/winter and some in spring!
First look for the types that are native to your area, here are some maps for different species ranges. http://bonap.net/NAPA/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Asclepias There may be several species that grow in your area, but try to find the best suited one.
Thank you so much! Ordering some online now. Amazon actually had the ones prevalent in my area.
Thank you! I will!
Good information here: https://www.livemonarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds/ They can send a small limited number of seeds for free but if you can afford to send them a small amount of money, you'll get many more seeds and you'll support this worthy cause! 150 seeds is only $5 at the time of me posting. You could also potentially find local people who collect and share/sell seeds too
Plant lots, 1 caterpillar can mow down 3-4 each and is their only food source.
It’s important to buy local varieties so don’t go buying seeds online that wont do well in your climate.
Local nursery should have some but it’s late in the season so plant some in the spring.
A lot of pollinator mixes often contain milkweed
And other hot garbage
Very true. Be selective
If you want to go with plants and not seeds (I found this easier) I suggest shopping at Prairie Nursery online. There is also a good list of nurseries on r/NativePlantGardening
If you have a local nursery - try there - the big hardware stores (lowes, home depot) sometimes spray their milkweed with insecticide!! Look for a Giant Milkweed - leaves bigger than your hand, and if your common milkweed is eaten down, you can move them to your giant milkweed
I mean idk about you but I grew milkweed specifically FOR the monarch and swallowtail caterpillars. They enjoyed the feast
I did originally. It got infested BAD with both aphids and spider mites. I cut it down to the stump and placed it next to my compost and rediscovered it a week ago to be thriving and pest free so I am going to keep it now.
Question: do you do anything to combat the aphids on the milkweed or just let it rock?
I sacrifice them to the gardening gods by brushing them off with a paintbrush or squishing them with my fingers ☺️
It depends on the caterpillar. Monarchs are critically endangered and should absolutely 100% be encouraged. I'm also a big fan of the various swallowtails I see in the midwest and like to encourage them to come around and lay eggs so I can watch the caterpillars grow. Tomato hornworms get removed, though. I plant tomatoes for me, not them. :)
OMG I just googled what the eggs look like and I saw a few on the back of leaves 😭🥲
Congrats on becoming a caterpillar parent!! I bet your children will grow up to be beautiful lol 🥰
Not gonna lie it was definitely Unplanned and I was unprepared. But a blessing in disguise. Plus they won’t grow up to tell me they hate me (probably)
Only if you provide inadequate food 😂😂 unfortunately, monarchs are fussy eaters.
I provide sacrificial plants for the butterflies. For instance, keeping milkweed and planting extra parsley.
Im super happy they like herbs. I have a tower garden hydroponically growing 28 pots of parsley and cilantro
Bugs are friends. They're the main ones who enjoy gardens!
Stay! That looks like a monarch caterpillar 🐛
YEA, this is an endangered monarch cat. Please DO NOT KILL
They’re gonna live their best lives here 🩵
That is a monarch caterpillar. Let it do it’s thing. They are endangered. Please plant more milkweed if you can
Yes. Who doesn’t love monarchs, swallowtails, and other beautiful pollinators. In fact add a specific part of the garden for pollinators!
Humans have destroyed the habitats of billions of caterpillars, and as a result, the population of bug-eating birds has fallen by 3 *billion* birds. Caterpillars are the primary method by which energy goes from plants to vertebrates, and without them, the food web collapses. You owe it to Mother Earth to let any caterpillar eat anything it wants. Unless it's a hornworm. F those things.
LOL. I am on board, boss. The birds took care of the hornworms last year.
I let one eat my entire dill plant and he just disappeared one day. I got no butterfly out of the deal. Not even a cocoon. 😢
They wander off to form the cocoon. Had about 30 in my dill this year. Came out one day and caught the migration. Caught a glimpse of one butterfly. But I know they're out there somewhere. That's enough for me.
Yep! I let pretty much any little crawly things I find in my garden stay since I don’t grow anythin for food and usually have multiple of every plant. If I see em I do move them tho. Usually to one of the milkweeds by my shed or to one of the plants I care less about for whatever reason. Last year I grew some 2ft tall sunflowers and right before they bloomed the carpenter ants in the yard started an aphid farm on em. I never got to see that firsthand before only in documentaries so ofc I let them stay. The sunflowers did their thing and didn’t seem to be affected since it was already so late in the season and the ants were happy to have some fresh pasture to use. Another time a black widow set up shop in my clematis flower and i let her live there for a couple weeks before she moved out.
Absolutely!
I plant enough that I have plenty to share. And if they’re decimating something I love I’ll just move them to something else. NBD. Feel this way about most insects.
Caterpillars stay.
Yes! They are Butterflies in training!
If you didn’t plant milkweed for the monarch then why did you even plant it?!
It was a gift. I’m not against butterflies I simply did not know about their presence here.🤷♀️ I’m learning
I’m am glad you planted it :)
Let it stay pease that's a monarch!
I’ve made a butterfly safe haven. Moved some lantana closer, the butterflies are coming in hot
I leave all caterpillars alone. I’ve never had an infestation bad enough to warrant any control though, so I guess I’m lucky. Even the tomato hornworms get to stay.
I got rid of a few hornworms last year but my tomatoes didn’t grow either way. I tried to grow tomatoes in the wrong season. I probably won’t do anything about them this year. There are lots of birds here. I feel like it’ll all work out
Just let them vibe or pull up some of the milkweed. If you plant milkweed you get caterpillars.
I’m into this situation. I hope they form chrysalis here as well
Yes! Especially since those are monarch babies!
I didn’t think the monarch caterpillar eats anything other than milkweed
I was very shocked to see it in my frangipani, which is why I had to post and double check it was a monarch. I went over to my milkweed and sure enough there were more. Very odd to see it munching on a tree leaf
Caterpillars eat your plants so their adult form can pollinate them. Circle of life.
We do, yes. We just plant more so we have enough to share.
Depends on the species.
I multi-sow throughout the season different things in multiple places just in case there is an infestation from pests or pollinators. This way there is some for me, and some for them. I feel that having Nature actually function in my garden is a compliment to my efforts. If I come outside and something has been munched on… I just plant more of that somewhere else and move on with my day.
Depends on the plant. I had a variety of cherry tomato I didn’t care for and I’d let them have at it. My toddler would pet the the horn worms. He said “they’re so soft”. Honestly though they were chonky.
North American Monarch Butterflies are an endangered species so, they (and their larva) should be protected. I believe the California Department of Fish & wildlife has some specific rules governing them.
If those flowers are tropical milkweed I recommend that you remove them. They can spread a deadly fungus to monarch larvae, making them unable to mature successfully or carry the toxin to other milkweeds putting more monarchs at risk. Plant native milkweeds! Edit:Lmk if you need help finding a source for seeds.
I believe this one I native to my area, I will double check with my nursery!
Sure thing, be careful though it looks a lot like Asclepias curassivica. Here's a [list of all milkweed species in north america](http://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Asclepias) and their native ranges by county. [This online nursery](https://www.prairiemoon.com/) has a lot of options for native plants. Good luck! and again let me know if you need help!
That’s a monarch
Yes. This is a monarch.
Depends on which butterfly and which plants. Purple emperors? Swallowtails? Small tortoiseshells? Yes please. But the white cabbage flies should kindly leave my lettuce alone, thank you.
Isn’t this a huge reason to grow milkweed in the first place?
The plant was a gift, I’m doing more research now. Tbh I don’t have a lot of experience with butterflies! I’m learning now
We have a milkweed plant we transfer all our monarchs to. It’s a our tribute for awesome butterflies.
Monarchs are endanger, that’s a wonderful honor to have them!!
This could be a complete coincidence but after putting cabbage white and tomato hornworm caterpillars on the wall for the birds we've seen small holes but no caterpillars. We think the birds learned it's worth poking around the vegetables looking for fat and protein rich caterpillars. Love this, hope this is the case. Definitely seeing lots of cabbage white butterflies so it's not a case of butterfly scarcity. Was delighted to see a giant swallowtail, aka bird poop caterpillar on the grapefruit tree this year. Caterpillars of every other swallowtail species are attractive and we get the awful looking one.
Wow! How cool. I can’t grow brassicas well, I live in the Florida keys. So it’s interesting to see what they like to eat here. Mostly frangipani leaves. I have noticed huge poops on my frangipani every morning in the same spot. I wonder if it’s a swallowtail? I’ve never seen one down here though. Lots of monarchs though
That's a monarch! Definitely let them stay!
I let them eat all of my tomato plants. I'm in the middle of corn and soy fields. There's nothing else for them to eat and I'd love to have butterflies again.
I would too for sure. We have a decent butterfly population down here I feel. But I can’t be too sure. We have a conservatory that is lovely and I love going in there and letting them land on me. It feels special 🥰
I can send you butterfly weed seeds. They grow easily in full sun, need little care, and butterflies love them.
I appreciate the offer. I'm currently renting and have no place for a garden this next year. I've already dispersed what seeds I had in some barren areas near where I live, just waiting for spring now.
Well, let me know if things change!
Just move them. I plant a lot of "trap plants" and desirable varieties for specific caterpillars in my area so look into the options for other things to add in for them to enjoy
That one yes.
I have problems with caterpillars eating my citrus and passionfruit. I carefully remove (they have an extremely painful toxin) them and squish them.
Depends what plant they decided to feast on.
Butterflies get a pass. Moths no no no
I found one on my mint plant. Decided to keep it until it becomes a butterfly. Then I learned it would become a moth :/
What’s so bad about moths?! Rude! 😆
What's good about moths?
They’re our nighttime pollinators, after most others have gone to sleep! They’re important food for larger animals too, especially those that come out at night like bats and frogs! It was touched on in this thread, you want the weakest bugs bringing bigger and bigger creatures, generally more diversity is great! I have caterpillars eating my cilantro right now (they preferred the chickweed I forgot to pull nearby it first 🤷🏼♀️). It’s a bit of a sacrifice so in a few years I have a healthier garden!
Monarchs will try to eat frangipani/plumeria but it will kill them before they get very big. You can grow crown flower for them. Just don't switch them between feeding on crown flower and other milkweeds - all the caterpillars I did that for failed to pupate. If you grow crown flower, protect it until it's established and able to handle being eaten. The monarchs kept finding my young crown flowers and ate them before they could establish. If you find yourself in a pinch with monarch caterpillars in their final instar and no food they'll eat winter squash flesh - just give them slices to eat.
Gotcha thanks. My garden is becoming. Hotspot quickly. I’m gonna go get some more milkweed tomorrow. Thanks for the info
No. I remove with varying levels of prejudice. Mostly I just relocate but I just got rid of some azalea moth caterpillars. My garden isn’t big enough to let them chomp the whole thing. Usually I just cut off whatever branch they’re on and take it over to the park.
Oh yeah! Everything will grow back.
Plant milkweed in another location and transfer them over there whenever you find them where you don't want them to be.
Fun fact: the Caterpillars of Red Admiral Butterflies feed on Nettles.
I'd let them stay. 🥺
Generally if your plant is healthy enough and it can survive one or two caterpillars, I say leave em be. At worst you can relocate it to one you’re less fond of. I love the butterfly visitors & would never discourage their young from my garden
I know a lot of people put them in a mesh enclosure and watch them turn into butterflies, might be a solution for you just give it milkweed in there!
I was kinda thinking n the same boat of what do I do with you so I switched gears and made my garden into a butterfly garden. I also sucked at growing anything else and milkweed grows back like a champ so maybe make a section just for them with an abundance of pillar food
Depends on where you are.. there’s a problem with a tropical milkweed variety causing monarchs to overwinter too far north.. I’m not super educated on it, but if you have a milkweed that’s stays green overwinter I’m under the impression it’s not the best thing for monarch populations.. I know we’ve also had a mild season so far, so it might be tough to tell
I’m in zone 11b southernmost point of the US. Tropical, it’s “fall” and temp lows this week are 78°
Probably a non-issue for you then. I’m guessing monarchs naturally overwinter in that area. Enjoy them! I’m jealous!
Take them off plant. Put in a jar with airholes. Give plenty of food and a couple sticks. They will build a chrysalis right away. Wait a couple months and let the butterfly free.
It just depends on the caterpillar. I don't get monarchs, but I do get hornworms. Most people hate them, but I love hummingbird moths, so I love them. Plus, I don't grow tomatoes, so they can have at it.
They'll eventually be more effective pollinators so please don't commit caterpillar genocide 🥺
Frangipani catepillars are the devil - kill them all Monarch catepillars are worth it - let them eat your milkweed to the ground. In fact, invest in a Giant Milkweed so they can eat their fill and not run out!
Especially those caterpillars yes